Syria 'peace congress' set between January 29-30 in Russia's Sochi

A planned Syrian National Dialogue Congress in the Black Sea resort of Sochi will be held between January 29-30, Turkish, Russian and Iranian delegations agreed on Friday.

The decision came during an eighth round of peace talks aimed at ending the Syria conflict. The talks began on Thursday in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana and ended on Friday.

The delegations also agreed on the release of detainees and mine clearing in historical sites, according to diplomatic sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In a joint statement by Turkey, Russia and Iran, the sides reaffirmed "their strong and continued commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syrian Arab Republic."

TRT World's Abubakr al Shamahi reports from Astana.

They also welcomed "progress in the implementation of the memorandum on the creation of de-escalation areas" in the country.

According to the statement, the Syrian congress will be held in late January "with the participation of all segments of Syrian society."

However, earlier in the day, Turkey vetoed the involvement of the PKK/PYD or any related groups at a planned Sochi gathering.

Turkish authorities have repeatedly said they would reject the presence of any terrorist groups at Syrian peace talks.

During the Astana talks, the Turkish delegation was chaired by the deputy undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry, Sedat Onal, while Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian president's special envoy for Syria, led his delegation, and Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari led Iran’s.

Representatives of the Syrian regime, armed opposition groups, as well as delegations from the UN, Jordan and the US also participated in the talks.

The delegation of the armed opposition groups said they submitted to the Russian delegation evidence of the Syrian regime's unlawful acts, as well as those of the PKK/PYD terror groups.

The next high-level international meeting on Syria in Astana will be held in the second half of February 2018.